Want to play my vinyl collection - again


To boldly go where this man hasn't been for a long time.
I still have my vinyl collection cause I always knew that CD quality sucked - well up until lately it seems.

So many turntables to choose from I need the help of the knowledgable folks in this forum.

I'm somewhat clueless about what I need.

I don't believe the Cary has a phono preamp/stage (I'm guessing I need one).

My current system which doesn't include my Technics SL 1700 (I think) turntable sitting in the garage..

System
Source(s) - Oppo BP83SE universal disc player highly modded. Transporter and a highly modded Squeezebox 3.
Amps - Nuforce 9SEV2 and a Halcro MC50
Preamp - Cary SLP05 tube monster
DAC - Neko D100
Speaker cables - Synergestic Research Tesla's
Interconnects - Assorted DIY's using the finest wire I could find Furutech connectors
Power - Crappy power conditioners with DIY power cords on a dedicated circuit also with an assortment of great plugs.
Current Speakers - AV123 LS6 Line Arrays (12 ribbon tweeters and 14 mid base drivers)

Don't want to mortgage the farm and used is good.

I was inspired by the Opera Consonance LP 6.1 at CES. I said "hey, I think I can afford that" at 1.3K dollars minus the cartridge. So maybe sub 3K for everything seems reasonable? I don't want something that doesn't play well vs my other sources cause it's a waste of money if I don't play it..

Thanks for your suggestions!!
128x128desalvo55
The Clearaudio Emotion solution looks like a great re-entry deal into vinyl. Nice

Here's a dumb newb question. Regarding the Musical Surroundings Phonomena II vs the Slee Era Gold, does the Maestro cartridge work with either phono stage and what would be better in case I upgraded cartridges at some point?
01-12-10: Desalvo55
Regarding the Musical Surroundings Phonomena II vs the Slee Era Gold, does the Maestro cartridge work with either phono stage and what would be better in case I upgraded cartridges at some point?
The Clearaudio Maestro is a MM cartridge with 3.6mV output, so it will work into the Slee Era Gold. I personally don't have experience with either phono stage, so I hope someone with experience with one or the other speaks up here.
About the comments made by a previous post on Consonance customer service:

Grant Fidelity is currently representing a few top Chinese manufacturers including the analog line from Opera Consonance. We also take care of product services of past Consonance product sold at regular retail price, not at fire sale price. In 2 years, we had less than 5 repair cases and all of them were solved completely with Consonance's support.

One thing needs to be mentioned that a purchase at clearance price with 'As-Is' condition doesn't qualify manufacturer's warranty. It's seller's responsibility to disclose such information to the buyer. I have received emails from buyers who bought a Consonance amp at $300 (retail should be arond $1k) but expect full factory warranty. I don't think this is a reasonable request - we see liquidation sale everywhere in North America and if you read the small print, it all doesn't include warranty anymore. It's not fair to blame the manufacturer on such a term - it's just part of the reseller's liquidation process.

I do not want to comment on the relationship between Joe and Consonance - it's their private matter. I feel sorry for some retailers or consumers are caught in between the matter. From our experience in dealing with Opera Consonance and any other Chinese factories we conduct business with for the past 4 years, customer service from Opera Consonance is no less than any other manufacturers and it is in a very fair term. They have knowledgeable staff who speaks English well and respond timely.

If you still have concern about purchasing Chinese products, please note that any products sold at regular retail price by Grant Fidelity will be warranted directly by Grant Fidelity on behalf of manufacturers. If a product sold as clearance, the original full warranty will not be included.

Thanks for reading.
Rachel - Grant Fidelity